Early numbers could signal big turnout

Related Content

HUNTINGTON -- Tuesday's general election has the makings of a busy day at polling places in the area.

With a presidential race on the ballot and strong early voting numbers, local election officials are expecting a good turnout on Election Day.

Even the day that the snowy fallout from Hurricane Sandy hit West Virginia, Cabell County had a notable turnout of early voters, said Cabell County Clerk Karen Cole, adding the county had over 4,400 early votes cast at that point.

"We've had a nice turnout through the early voting, and presidentials and generals (election) are always the highest turnout," she said.

It's hard to tell, said interim Wayne County Clerk Joan Potter, wondering out loud if more early voters means fewer people will be heading out when the election comes.

Last week's power outages had a lot of people concerned, she said, but she anticipated it would be business as usual by Tuesday.

"We don't foresee any precincts not being able to function," she said.

She too reported strong early voting numbers despite the bad weather last week, but clerks still anticipate that weather will play a big role in the voter turnout on Election Day.

The National Weather Service in Charleston is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high temperature in the low to mid 50s. Clouds are expected to roll in during late afternoon, but no precipitation is expected in the Tri-State.

As of Saturday, 8,552 people had cast early votes in Cabell County and 2,437 in Wayne County. In Lincoln County, 1,839 votes had been cast, and 2,939 votes had been cast in Mason County. In Logan County, 1,927 people had cast votes and 6,664 early votes had been cast in Putnam County.

Early voting was so busy in the presidential battleground state of Ohio that, "I think we're already finished in Lawrence County. It's insane," said Cathy Overbeck, director of the Lawrence County Board of Elections. "It's going to be a huge turnout (for the election Tuesday). ... I think people are very interested in it."

As of Wednesday, the office had sent out 5,700 requested absentee ballots, and more than 4,000 had come back, she said.

"Just people coming in the office, we've had over 1,200 in-person voters," she said, adding that military votes are up. While there normally may be about 10 by this time, there have been 55, she said.

The state of Ohio as a whole was reporting strong early voting numbers even before last week.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted's office reported that as early as Friday, Oct. 26, more than 1.2 million Ohioans had already cast ballots. Of the 1.3 million absentee ballots that have been mailed to voters during the absentee voting period, more than 950,000 already had been returned, or 71.9 percent. In addition, more than 306,000 voters had voted in person at their board of elections or designated vote center.

And early voting usually picks up as the election draws nearer, he and Cole said.

For those who will be heading to the polls on Tuesday, here's a checklist of items to remember:

What to bring

If West Virginia voters have recently registered to vote but not yet shown an ID at the time of registration or when voting, they'll need to bring an ID to the polling place, Cole said. Otherwise, just bring yourself.

In Ohio, voters need to bring a valid ID, which can be in seven forms. Among them are a photo ID, government document, military ID, bank statement, utility bill and others. The form must be in the name of the voter, not a spouse or other relative.

In Kentucky, voters must have an ID if they are not known by sight by an individual working the poll. That could include a driver's license, credit card, Social Security card or photo ID with the person's signature. Boyd County Clerk Debbie Jones advised every voter bring a form of ID just to be safe.

Other key voter information:

To report a voting problem: Problems in Cabell County can be reported to 304-526-8633.

Other numbers:

Wayne County Clerk's office, 304-272-6370.

Putnam County Clerk's office, 304-586-0202.

Lawrence County, Ohio, Board of Elections, 740-532-0444.

Boyd County, Ky., Clerk's office, 606-739-5116 .

To determine your polling place

The Herald-Dispatch website has a list of precinct polling places, which can be found by clicking on "Elections" and then "Voter Info." Information is listed for Cabell, Putnam and Wayne counties in West Virginia, along with Lawrence County, Ohio, and Boyd County, Ky.

Getting to the polls

Senior citizens and all other Medicare card holders can ride Tri-State Transit (TTA) services free all day on Election Day. Dial-A Ride customers will need to make their reservation 24 hours in advance. TTA Dispatchers are on duty to answer any questions about schedules and routes. For bus service, call 304-529-RIDE. For Dial-A-Ride service, call 304-529-7700.

According to Paul E. Davis, general manager and chief executive officer, TTA traditionally offers seniors free transit on Election Day because many do not drive and it also encourages voter turnout.

Also, Mountain State Centers for Independent Living will again be offering free rides to the polls between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Nov. 6 from areas of Cabell County, Westmoreland, Ceredo and Kenova. Anyone wanting a ride should call 304-525-3324 to schedule a time.

Comments

The Herald-Dispatch welcomes your comments on this article, but please be civil. Avoid profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, accusations of criminal activity, name-calling or insults to the other posters. Herald-dispatch.com does not control or monitor comments as they are posted, but if you find a comment offensive or uncivil, hover your mouse over the comment and click the X that appears in the upper right of the comment. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal Facebook page, uncheck the box below the comment.